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Reading Terminal Market

Location: This big ‘ol thing takes up two blocks. 12th and Arch through 11th and Market. Biggest building yet.

Finished: 1859

Architectural Style: uhhhh… I don’t know. I’m going to guess Modern…

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What is Philadelphia known for? The Liberty Bell, the Declartaion of Independence, Ben Franklin, William Penn, are the most famous from history. The more modern Philly star is the Cheesesteak. Food is a big thing in Philly, especily cheeses. Cheese cream, cheesesteaks, throw Philadelphia before it and people eat it. So we will now be eating our lunch in the food capital of Philadelphia – Center City’s Reading Terminal Market. It’s not very architecturally significant. It’s nowhere near as impressive as anything. But there’s one reason why this is a personal favorite of mine. The vibe of the place is very nice. It doesn’t look like much, it smell’s good, yes, but it feels good. It’s a great place to be. But we’ll get there later.

As for the building, it’s not all that much. The outside is nice. It’s a brick-stone-i don’t know exterior with nice neon signs that show the places name. It is not tall at all. Being next to the 400 foot PSFS Building and the 375 foot Aramark Tower doesn’t help its cause. But that’s not the goal. There’s a tunnel that has JFK Boulevard going under it. It’s just that big. It looks nice with the nearby Mariott hotel of also enourmous size, or even the PA Convention Center north of it. That combined takes up 5 blocks. Oh my lanta! You could call this possibly as important a building as say, Liberty Place, but the architecture has nothing much to offer. The product is better than the contents.

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Come on, you know what goes on here. It’s a huge place for business people, tourists, cooks, chefs, anyone else. You can find any food imaginable at this place. Ham, Steak, pork, crepes, Peking duck, cookies, seafood, ice cream, pasta, croissants, salads, sushi, doughnuts, and Philly’s namesake Cheesesteak. Woah. Not to mention cultural restuarants, which can be Chinese, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, any country has it’s fine foods represented here. (sorry, they had to be alphabetized). Fruits and vegetables are also here in vast abundance, with huge produce stores that sell any fruit you could think of. Quite a lot going on here.

Much like at Wanamaker Building, there is much Christmas fesitivity. There is a holiday railroad up until the end of the season. It’s nice, but my pictures didn’t come out. I’ve evidenced, but never said, I like trains. Model railroads are fabulous. I like them a lot, and many others do as well. There’s much to see at this one, which changes every year. There is a little snowy village, which has, sorry, architectural appeal. Plenty of trains go by the village, including Thomas the Tank Engine (nostalgia to the face). You can hit buttons to move the trains in certian ways. It’s a good time, and there’s plenty of life around it, as it is around this area. I really love it here. The neon signs that are featured around the market add to the effect of a nice place for lunch, or dinner, or any meal actually. It’s one of my favorite places in the city, and many would agree. This place is worth coming back to.